The Solar-Powered Man
by Sillas Eahpare
Summary: The Thirty-Six Righteous Ones finally appear. But then an organization called the Nemeses captures them and the military uses them as human weapons to fight their battles for them. Will Chase Winston, the Solar-Powered Man of the prophecy, be able to save them all?
1. Prologue

The Solar-Powered Man

Prologue

Two men knelt before their master in their dark underground base, with only an old light bulb that flickers on its own as light. One man wore a coat that scientists usually wear with eye glasses on his blue eyes. The latter wore a white mask with a black jacket and black jogging pants with Kanji written on its sides. "We have successfully located The Amphibian, Wrath-san," said the masked man.

Before them, a pair of bloody red eyes looked down at them. He spoke with an eerie tone, one that sends chills down your spine. "Where is he, then?"

The two men looked at each other for a moment, and then the scientist adjusted his eye glasses as he answered, "We have yet to abduct him, Master Wrath. You see, he had escaped our plan A, so we'll just have to –"

Wrath's eyes were furious. Then, a giant, beastly arm shot out from Wrath's shadow and grabbed the scientist's face, then slammed him to the ground. The masked man rose and aided his comrade, while the beastly arm returned to the shadows. As the masked man was shaking the scientist, the eerie voice echoed through the room. "That'll teach you a lesson. Don't take the thirty-six lightly."

The scientist's face was all bruised up, both his lens were shattered and his head was on a pool of blood. Nonetheless, he smiled at the masked man. "It's okay, really. My head is… modified for these contingencies."

The masked man looked at the red eyes of Wrath. "If I didn't show mercy on you two, I would've smashed your mask into pieces, along with your skull," the master said.

"Now bring me," he continued. "That damned Amphibian!"

The masked man ran away from them, leaving the scientist in a pool of blood with the monster who had nearly killed him. His mission was clear: find the Amphibian, or he'll die. He hurried his pace.


	2. Chapter 1

The Solar-Powered Man

Chapter 1

The sun was up high after an early morning drizzle. The farmers started to harvest their crops, the fishermen reeled a school of salmon, and the women did their knitting. It was another ordinary day in the town of Sterling.

But not for this fourteen-year-old boy named Chase. He was sitting on the soft, green grass, letting the sun scorch his fair skinned arm.

It all started when one day, after a rough morning with his mother, who yelled at him for playing with fire (even though he was trying to tell her about his theory) and ran away from his home and sat down on a cushion of grass. He raised his arm to the heat of the sun, and inhaled.

_I absolutely have no idea on what I'm trying to do here_, he thought. _But maybe… if I could get this right…_

The sun was so hot that a small flame was made on Chase's arm.

He was amazed at the sight of it, the fire touching his skin, yet he felt no pain. The boy wondered what caused it, but then the fire on his skin had spread onto the whole arm.

He got up in surprise as he tried to shake the fire off. He then patted his burning arm on the soft grass, but stopped and cursed as they too caught fire. He caught sight of a lake nearby, and he dashed to it.

After the fire went out as he soaked his arm into the water, he went back to put out the burning grass. He stepped on the fire in an attempt to put it out, but failed miserably. He then tried to slowly grasp the flame with his hands, putting his scorching arm theory to the test.

The fire on the grass was gone, as it was dancing on his hand. He didn't understand it, but he thought of it as a pretty cool discovery. He let the flame roll between his fingers, and then he tossed it up and down like a ball. He couldn't believe he was literally _playing _with fire.

He raised it to the sun, and the flame grew bigger. He slowly closed his palm, and the flame died. Chase shook both of his hands, and smoke came out of them. He couldn't wait to tell his mother and tell her about his discovery.

But then he heard a gunshot. Chase turned around at the direction of the lake. There was nobody there, yet he was certain that the gun was fired yonder the lake. He started to quicken his pace. Then another gunshot was fired. Chase stopped at once. The sound was near him, and so was the gunman. He turned around to see a man swimming in the lake. He was holding a gun.

"Hey!" The man called to him. Chase made a run for it, as fast as his legs could carry him. And then he tripped. Something grabbed his ankle, and it was wet. He turned to see a spout of water, flowing out of the soil, like the drinking fountains in his school. And before he could say anything else, the spout of water lunged at him, wrapping Chase's hands like handcuffs.

Chase tried to remove the water handcuffs, but the water bounded him surprisingly tight. It pulled him up and dragged him to the lake, where the man was slowly moving his hand towards him, as if he was controlling the spout of water. "That's it," he said as if he was a parent teaching his son how to walk.

"What do you want?" Chase muttered. His spiky caramel hair gleamed like gold under the heat of the sun. His amber eyes were staring at the man with a gun, and noticing some features that he hadn't noticed before. The man had scales on his cheeks. He also had tiny fins on his ears.

The Amphibian seemed to notice Chase's realization, as he smiled and said, "I'm one of you, Chase." His green shirt was soaked, as well as his white board shorts and sandals.

"What?" Chase said. He was still looking at the scales and fins.

"Bah, you're still too young to understand," the Amphibian said. "By the way, the name's Pryce. And this gun over here fires blanks, and I just used this to get your attention." Pryce raised the gun in the air, and to his surprise, Chase kicked it from his hand.

"Sterling hates the military. It reminds them of the Sterling war."

The Sterling war was a surprised civil war that started when a soldier threw a grenade at the town's market. Then the army flowed across the town, shooting innocent people and sparing the children. Former General Havoc commanded the attack, but that was until he was shot by Chase's grandfather, who was also in the army. The war ended there, and it took the town ten years to rebuild what they have lost.

Then, Pryce winced and sunk in the lake. Chase pulled him up and saw a shuriken, a sharp five edged-steel weapon, pierced into his back. He yanked it out and the Amphibian took a deep breath. "What the hell was that?" Chase asked.

Pryce's eyes widened with fear. "He's here."

"Who's here?"

Suddenly, another shuriken was thrown, nearly missing Chase's nose. He cursed as the shuriken sunk into the water. He picked it up and touched the tip of the star with his finger. It bled, making him toss the weapon back to the water. He washed his wound, and then let his finger dry under the sun. The bleeding stopped, and the wound disappeared.

Pryce must've sensed the follow-up shuriken, because he turned and a wall of water was made. Chase couldn't believe it and he rubbed his eyes. "How'd you do that?"

The Amphibian grinned. "I told ya, I'm one of you," he raised his left leg, revealing a "XXXVI" tattoo – one like Chase's on his right leg. Chase was awestruck, and before he could say anything, the throwing star got caught in the water wall. If it weren't for the wall, Pryce's forehead would have been pierced.

"Stay behind the wall, Chase." The Amphibian said. Chase followed him, soaking his black jeans and black Vans. When he crouched behind Pryce, his white shirt was also soaked, but he kept his arms up, careful not to touch the water.

The next attack wasn't a shuriken; it was a kick. The masked man kicked the wall, and the water wall broke. It narrowly missed the Amphibian's head, and the man landed in front of Chase.

"Now who is _this_ guy?" The masked man asked. "Your friend?"

Chase threw his fist at the man, but he was slow. Too slow. The next thing he knew, the man was behind him, patting his hand on Chase's right shoulder. He whispered, "Too… slow."

He grabbed Chase's arm, and no matter how hard Chase struggled, he couldn't let go of his grip. Then he concentrated on his theory earlier, and his arm was on fire, making the masked man let go of his arm. His white gloves caught fire, but he simply yanked them off and tossed them to the water. The masked man cursed.

Apparently, he was too distracted to see Pryce's fist flying towards him. The punch connected, and the masked man staggered to maintain his balance. Pryce smiled and attempted a follow-up left hook, but the man saw it coming and countered it with an elbow, which missed as Pryce ducked. He tried an uppercut, but the man took a step back.

While they were fighting, Chase picked up a blood-stained shuriken – the one that pierced Pryce's back. He inhaled, and then threw it, hoping his throwing skills were accurate enough. The shuriken was only able to scratch the masked man's nose. He drew his attention to Chase, and after one swift kick that knocked the lights out of Pryce, he lunged at the boy.

Chase concentrated again, both hands at the direction of the masked man. Then, two fire balls shot out like cannons, and they hit the man's chest. He was thrown back, and then his unconscious body sunk. Chase looked at his hands, wondering how the heck he was able to do that.

He ran towards Pryce, whose body was being pushed by the waves. He shook the Amphibian, and he woke up. He rose and scratched his head, and the twosome went to the masked man's body.

The masked man slowly rose and took a step back as he saw the two boys. He winced, clutching his stomach. The fire balls tore through his jacket, and his stomach was the color of charcoal. He cursed and kicked the water, splashing them to their faces. Then, he fled.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been a week since he'd last seen the masked man and Pryce. After the masked man fled, Pryce swam north, saying that he must find "the others". Chase had no idea what that meant, but he nodded anyway. He also told him to be on guard always, as there are people more dangerous than the masked man hunting them down.

The masked man. Chase still had nightmares about his encounter with him. The man spoke nothing about his objectives, but his actions say it all: he would stop at nothing to kill them both. He tore through the water wall with one kick, and he knocked out Pryce with the same. He was able to throw the three shurikens at the boys' heads, and if it weren't for their luck, they would have died, just like how Pryce nearly fainted when he was hit at the back.

Chase saw what happened. Just like him and the sun, Pryce's wound was healed when he plunged into the water. He raised his hand to the sun, and he saw a speck of sunlight dancing on his palm. He thought of the fireballs he made when he was attacked by the masked man.

The speck started twirling around his palm, and pretty soon he was able to create a spinning fireball on his palm. He grinned, and then he accidentally touched the grass. The ground made an ankle-deep hole filled with chartreuse grass. He bit his lips. His mother would yell at him for destroying the ground.

He scratched his head as he wondered how to fix it, and then he heard an explosion not so far away.

Chase froze. Then he heard gunshots. He sprinted ahead, following the black puff of smoke in the sky. He cursed as he looked at his house, which was being consumed by a massive fire. With one deep breath, he entered, smashing the front door open with a tackle.

The entire first floor was crumbling down, and the second floor's wooden flooring came crashing down. He ran straight for his mother's room and kicked the door open. His mother was on the bed, a long piece of wood on her bloody stomach. He cried before her as she coughed out blood. Chase apologized for leaving her alone.

Chase was yanked away from her, and crashed on a flaming wooden table. He rubbed his aching throat, as he was yanked by the collar. When he opened his eyes, the masked man was staring at him with cold, murderous eyes. Chase was petrified.

"So glad to see you, Chase," began the masked man.

The boy blinked twice and attempted to punch the mask, but his fist was caught by his gloved hand. "Still too slow, as usual." He choked Chase and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Chase coughed.

He felt the boot of the masked man on his chest, ready to stomp. But he just kicked his ribcage. Chase winced. The man knelt next to him. "I would love to kill you myself, but I'm only ordered to knock you unconscious." He raised a fist, poised to strike.

Chase could feel the anger rush through his body. Anger caused by the masked man's devilish act. Anger caused by the fact that he wasn't able to save his peaceful and loving mother. Anger caused by his foolishness. And all the anger turned into pain; the pain of his dying mother, the pain of the masked man's kick, and the pain of being helpless and weak and slow.

He focused all the anger and pain into one powerful uppercut. The man stumbled on the floor as Chase stood up. He would love to incinerate him, but it wouldn't be that fun. He made an evil grin, and then he lunged at him, landing punch after punch on the man's mask.

"This is for my mother, Celia!" A left hook.

"This is for my house!" A right hook.

"And _THIS_," he grabbed the man's collar, with a right jab ready to finish him for good. Fire swirled around it, and it formed a boxing glove. Chase's evil grin grew even wider. "This is for everything!"

The mask looked like it was about to break, and if Chase landed his punch, the man's face would get burnt. He looked at the man's eyes. The man was pleading for forgiveness.

Chase was just an inch away from the mask, but he sighed and smashed the floor instead. He released the grip of the man, and he pushed him away. The masked man rose and fled. He stayed by his mother's side until the fire subsided, along with his house. He cried on the bed sheets. He felt the surge of guilt. He nearly killed a person, and he was just fourteen.

"I'm sorry," he said, soaking the bed sheets. "I'm so, so sorry."

He was so angry that he kicked a nearby table and punched the remains of the wall. After an hour of thrashing around, his legs gave way, and then he fainted.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the underground hideout, the masked man limped his way to the light bulb at the center, where he saw three people and his master waiting for him. One wore golden gladiator armor and a golden dagger, the other one had messy black hair and artificial arms, and the third one had a ponytail, a plain white shirt, and jeans.

"Good morning, Havoc," the gladiator said to the masked man. The tone of his voice was friendly, but Havoc knew that he was being played with. "You seem pretty beat up."

"We've heard about the Solar-Powered Man and what he did to you," the man with a ponytail said. "He must be stronger than we thought."

Before Havoc could defend himself, the man was behind him with a knife touching his throat. "What's this all about?" Havoc asked.

"You have failed your mission, Havoc," Wrath said. "You weren't able to capture the Amphibian. And then you found the Solar-Powered Man, the most powerful of all _lamedvavniks_, and he kicked your arse."

Havoc wasn't listening. Instead, he was thinking of a way to escape the underground base without dying in the process. He ran a finger across the blade of the knife. "Well, I'm sorry about that, Master," he began. "But what will you gain if I die?"

He could see his master's surprise in his eyes. Havoc took this as an opportunity. "See? You would not _gain_ anything. You would _lose _one of your best servants."

"You? One of the _best _servants?" the gladiator laughed. "Prove it, then. Prove to me that you are one of the best servants here!"

Havoc inhaled. Then, with two fingers, he slid the knife out of Ponytail's hand and threw it into the darkness. He gave Ponytail a good kick to the solar plexus, then, still in mid-air, he kicked his head. Hard.

He turned to face the other two and gestured them to approach him. The gladiator charged with a Trojan War battle cry. He drew his golden dagger, but Havoc kicked it off his hand. The gladiator cursed and gave Havoc a right hook. The punch connected, and Havoc fell down. His heart was palpitating; he needed to escape _fast_ or he'd be a goner. And he also needed to find a new mask, for his was about to give in.

"Hey, Kyrios!" He called out to the man with the artificial arms. The gladiator picked Havoc up by the neck, and he saw his opening. Havoc kicked the gladiator's golden chest plate, and he staggered to keep his balance. The masked man wasn't going to give him time to do so, because he lunged and tackled him to the ground.

Kyrios pulled Havoc away from the gladiator, and he was caught by the ponytailed man. Havoc cursed and grabbed the man's leg, but let go the instant he saw the 'XXXVI' tattoo on his right leg. "Don't tell anyone," Ponytail whispered before Havoc could say anything. He kicked Havoc in the face, and his mask broke into pieces. He immediately covered his bleeding face with his gloved hand. He got up, dodged a punch, jumped over a kick, and slid past a tackle.

The three men were about to run after the escapee, but Wrath said, "No, it is a wild goose chase. There's only one person fast skilled enough to catch him." He stared at the darkness. "Come out, Genkai."

A slouching long-haired man stepped out of the darkness. "Sora Genkai," he said. He pulled out seven swords out of his black robe, and seemed to be quite skilled with them, as he was twirling them around. "At your service."

Meanwhile, at the Sterling train station, a man called through a mega phone, "All aboard for Altara!"

Chase boarded the steam train for Altara. With his house gone, he had nowhere to stay. Then he realized that his Aunt Nannie lived in Altara. He only brought enough money for him to pay for the train and meals, because the safe was burnt down, along with his clothes and food.

As he sat down at the last row (he disliked riding with strangers beside him) and watched the view of Sterling, many things went through his mind. _I'll have to rewear these clothes until I get to Altara_, he looked at his red shirt and black jeans and smelled them. _Still good, for now._

_Pryce said that he'll be heading north. If he travelled by lake Umami, he would probably be at Central by now. And since Altara is just beside Central, maybe I could visit him sometime._

_ Oh yeah, I wonder what happened to the masked man? _His face wrinkled at the thought of him. He was the man who set fire to his house. He was the man who killed his mother. He was the man whom he had almost killed.

He looked at his hands. The feeling of punching the man was much different than when he punched the wall. Punching the man felt _good_. But he had the intention to kill him. He ran a hand through his caramel hair and sighed. He was a righteous man, a man who would never kill anyone.

Then, a gunshot echoed across the unit. It hit one of the lights and everyone was surprised. Chase saw a man at the center with a bandanna covering his nose and mouth, a pair of shades, and a cowboy hat. It reminded him of a bandit, those who attack freight trains and such. He was yelling at everyone to get down. Chase did as told, and so did everyone else on board. A second gunshot was fired. It made a hole on the roof.

"Listen 'ere," said the bandit. He yanked a little girl out of her seat and pointed his gun at her head. "I'm gunna let this lil' fella go if I get all of yer munny." He cocked the gun. The little girl screamed.

Chase's eyes widened. _It's a ransom! And he's going to kill her if someone wouldn't save her on time!_ He scanned the place for a ray of sunlight, but the brightest one he found was from the hole on the roof. _Maybe… just maybe…_

He stood up and faced him. The bandit's eyes widened. Then he said with a chuckle, "Well, hell-o there, junior."

"Let her go," Chase said.

"Confident, eh? I like it. But what ye gunna do if I _don't_?"

"Oh, you wouldn't want to know. Now, **let her go**."

"Was gunna happ'n if I _don't_?"

He put his palm under the tiny ray of sunlight. A tiny speck of sunlight twirled around it. But it was so slow that it died out. _Uh-oh_.

The bandit saw Chase's scared expression and laughed. "Ha ha! Just as I thought. Ye ain't got nothin'. I like yer guts, though."

Chase shook his hand some more. _Come on, sunlight! Make a Fireball!_ he thought. _It's getting awkward!_

"I s'pose I'll get ye first," the bandit pointed his gun at Chase.

The boy's palm was getting sweaty and red, so was his face. He swore. He was concentrating on the sunlight so hard that he was getting exasperated and fatigued. Not to mention humiliated.

_So this is it, _he thought. He put his hands in the air. _This is how I die. But at least I stood up to that little girl. Urgh, it would have been better if I just kept my mouth shut and gave away my money. _

He closed his eyes. Then he heard a gunshot. Then some gasps.

When he opened them, they widened. The bullet was just an inch away from his glabella. He staggered back and realized that it was caught by an ice sculpture. He looked at the bandit, who was just as shocked as he was.

A boy stepped out from the front row. His brown hair was long, swept to the left, covering both his eyes. He wore a black jacket, sleeves rolled to the elbows, black jeans and black sneakers. "Stand back," he told Chase. "Let me handle this." He had a strange Asian accent.

The bandit dropped his gun and let the little girl go. "Who are you?"

"Call me Hyun. And what were you doing to the little girl?"

Hyun was about to strangle the bandit, but after a high-pitched whistle, four more bandit goons appeared and tossed Hyun aside. Chase tried to get a fireball again, but he still couldn't. Hyun got up and slammed both hands on the floor. A giant iceberg shot out from the floor and ripped open half of the roof, and two of the goons were thrown out of the train.

Chase charged and kicked the remaining two bandit goons while Hyun made two smaller icebergs that threw them out. The bandit leader threw his arms in the air. Chase saw his chance and concentrated on the fireball. The sunlight was so strong and wide that he finally formed it.

Hyun's eyes widened at the sight of the huge spinning fireball. Chase wondered if it would kill the bandit, so he aimed it at the iceberg. It melted and the strong flow splashed on the bandit's head, knocking him out. The water went out of the unit through a hole underneath, and luckily no one got wet except for the bandit leader.

The train didn't seem to stop or slow down; it just kept on going. Chase told the people on board that everything's taken care of. On the other hand, Hyun was staring at Chase, still awestruck after seeing the fireball.

"You're… you're… The Solar-Powered Man!" Hyun's expression darkened as he turned his hands into ice. The ice formed a sword on his right and a shield on his left. Then he charged.


End file.
